Tag: Olesnica

We spent Friday, September 4 through Wednesday, September 9 in Kraków. On some of those days we left the city with our guide Pawel, and went to some of the major tourist locations in the area.

I would love to give you a day by day synopsis of what we did in Kraków but that would be nearly impossible. In 2013 when I visited Kraków I was unable to spend much time there and knew there was alot to do. With the fiasco of our plane tickets and return date, I decided to add a few more days to our Kraków experience. I had quite an extensive list of things I wanted to see and do in Kraków, so the plane ticket mix-up actually benefited us.

Knowing a little about Kraków, I knew location was everything. I wanted to be close enough to walk to all the main tourist attractions, the main one being Main Market Square. I wanted to spend some time there. If you’ve never been to Kraków, the square itself is the focal point of the city. You could spend weeks there and never try all the restaurants that line the streets around the square.

Main Market Square

I knew one place in particular that Denise would like would be the Cloth Hall. If you’re looking for souvenirs of any type, the cloth hall is the place to go.

Krakow Cloth Hall

Our hotel Kraków Residence Hotel, was about a 25-30 minute walk to the square. We did this walk at least 3 to 4 times a day. Any opportunity we could do lunch or dinner at the square in Kraków we did. By the last day we decided to try a change of pace and had dinner at a Chinese restaurant just down the street from our hotel.

The square itself is a hustling, bustling place of restaurants, vendors, musicians, break dancers, and various other forms of entertainment. One particular musician was getting a rather large following while playing in the square. He is Imad Fares and his guitar playing is amazing! ( Video1 ) ( Video2 )

There are lines of horse drawn carriage rides available around the square. They take you for quite an extensive tour around the city.

View from the carriage.

We spent the better part of one day touring and seeing the sights of Wawel Royal Castle. The tour of the castle is broken up into nine parts, and we toured six of them. Many are limited to the number of people that can go in per day at a certain time. If you’re visiting Kraków, this is your primary tourist location.

View from the tower in Krakow

Wawel Royal Castle

Tower outside Wawel Royal Castle

The day after we arrived in Kraków I finally got the opportunity to meet Zenon from PolishOrigins. I’d spoken with Zenon a few times during our trip, as he called to check to make sure that everything was going well with our customized tour. Zenon had been on tour with another group for the first part of our trip. He had only one day off and took the time to come to meet Denise and I for dinner. It was our first experience dining in the Jewish district of Kraków, and the food was absolutely amazing. His visit spoke volumes to us in regards to the PolishOrigins business. You don’t find many tour companies whose owners take the time to come to meet you and keep in contact with you the way he did. PolishOrigins definitely strives to make sure that your trip expectations are met and/or exceeded.

On September 5, my cousin Kazmierz and his wife came from Olesnica to meet us for lunch/dinner. Zbigniew took the time out of his day to come with us and act as our translator. We had a great time dining, talking and laughing at a very unique restaurant.

After dinner Kazmierz mentioned and old monastery The Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec that served great coffee, so we headed there. Standing by the wall looking down at the river below was a magnificent view.

View from the monastery

After bidding my family farewell, we headed back to Kraków . When we arrived we noticed a long line of people waiting on the street near a building called, Lody na Starowiślnej. We asked Zbigniew what was going on there, and he replied it ice cream/yogurt. Being the curious sort, we decided to try it, and waited in line for 15 minutes. It was well worth the wait! (check out the link for their facebook page above. The photo at the top shows how long their lines usually are.)

We spent nearly five days in Kraków, and while some of those days we were off viewing other destinations, I still feel like I had enough time there. Kraków is an absolutely beautiful city and you really need like a month to take it all when. Maybe next trip. 🙂

We left Kraków on Thursday, September 10 via train and headed to our final destination of Warsaw.

To say I was nervous and excited was an understatement. I’ve heard stories about my family in Poland since I was a child, and I had a vast collection of old photographs that I believed were of my grandfather’s family. When we arrived, Kazmierz was waiting outside for us. I couldn’t believe my eyes as Kazmierz looked identical to my mom’s late brother Pete. After a brief greeting, Kazmierz looked somewhat confused as we headed inside.

Denise, Mike, Cecelia, Kazmierz

We sat down at the kitchen table and Zbigniew proceeded to explain who we were. Kazmierz didn’t realize there was anyone else coming other than Zbigniew to talk about Stanislaw Glowniak. Somehow that got lost in the communication. As they spoke, I politely opened a folder and pulled out a photo of what I believed was Kazmierz’s mother and father. I’d been waiting all my life for confirmation of what I’d been told. As Kazmierz took the photo, his face lit up and he smiled as he and said in Polish, “to jest moja matka i ojciec! i siostry krok!” Suddenly he realized that I was a direct blood relative. He couldn’t believe I had come all that way to find and meet him! He knew there was family in America, but when my grandfather passed in 1961, communication was lost and the family had no idea how to locate us. Now, fifty-four years later, here I was. We spent a better part of the afternoon getting to know one another, exchanging family stories and history and dining on some amazing Polish food.

Later in the afternoon, we took a visit to Edward Glowniak and his family. Edward’s father was Tomasz Glowniak, my grandfather’s other brother that remained in Poland. I was overwhelmed and still have difficulty explaining the feelings that I had while meeting my family. Many of the stories that I heard about my family in Poland were coming to life. Kazmierz and Edward were recanting stories of old days in Poland, giving me some information on my grandfather that I never knew.

Mike, Edward, Kazmierz

As it got towards nightfall, we were going to be heading back to our hotel but were requested to come stay at Kazmierz’s home for the remaining days of our visit in Olesnica. I headed back to the hotel and packed up. It was a day that I will absolutely never forget.

The following morning, we drove to Olesnica to Kazmierz home. We took a trip during the day to the cemetery to pay respects to my ancestors. A unmarked grave that I had found in 2013, was indeed that of my great-grandfather Michael Glownaik. As I stood there I realized I was the first descendant of the American family to have visited the grave.

Grave of my great grandfather, Michal Glowniak

We then went to the town hall to look into some genealogy records I’ve been wanting to find. I was finally able to confirm a story that my mom’s older sister Julia, was indeed named after my grandfather’s mother Julianna Glowniak (nee Strzelecka). Apparently he had gotten word that his mother was sick, and when his daughter was born on July 7, 1920 he named her after his mother. I was able to validate the story with the death record. Julianna had passed on July 9, 1920, two days after the birth of her granddaughter.

In the afternoon, after dining with Kazmierz, we took a trip to Pacanow, home of the fabled character Koziołek Matołek. Every where you look there is a goat!
Our next stop was the church in Olesnica. A family story that had been passed down from my grandfather was that his father Michael was doing masonry work atop the church, slipped, and fell to his death back in 1901. My grandfather was working with him and was only seven years old. Unfortunately, we were never able to verify that story. That very story is what prompted me to find my polish family at the request of my mother and aunt. It started my genealogy passion.

As we were walking away from the church, the church bells started ringing. I made everyone stop as I quickly realized that I was the first American descendent to hear those church bells since my grandfather. I recorded them so my mom and my family could hear them.

Parish Olesnica

Kazmierz then took me for a ride through Olesnica and showed me where his family had lived, and the birth home of my own grandfather.

Birth home of my grandfather.

After that we headed to Edward’s house for an evening of festivities. The food and the vodka flowed freely. Later in the evening I made a Skype call to my mom and her sister in the United States, so they could meet their Polish cousins. My mom and aunt both immediately started crying. They couldn’t believe that I had found my grandfather’s family.

Glowniak family relations reunite!

After the Skype call we went back to celebrating. It was a late, amazing and wonderful night. In the morning after numerous photos and goodbyes, we headed out on the road to our next destination, Pysznica.

On Thursday morning August 27th, we had breakfast and headed towards Olesnica, the hometown of my maternal grandfather. Prior to coming to Poland in 2013, I had done extensive genealogical research on my family from that area and found that my great grandfather Michal Glowniak was born in the town of Kotuszow, Poland. His father, Szymon Glownak was listed as the organist of the church of Kotuszow, where Michal and his siblings were born.

Kotuszow

Zbignew suggested that we stop in Kotuszow prior to going to Olesnica. Kotuszow was only two miles south of our hotel, so it was a perfect location to explore the area. When we arrived in the middle of Kotuszow, we spotted the church and pulled off to see if we could look inside. As we were walking towards the front of the church there were two couples standing out front. Three of them had started to walk away, but one elderly gentleman stopped and spoke with Zbignew. After a brief conversation he literally almost ran across the street. I asked Zbignew where he was going and he commented that this gentleman was the caretaker of the church. When he learned my family had lived in the area he offered to show us inside.

It’s a surreal feeling being in a church that was built in 1661. As we walked inside, the caretaker pointed out certain areas of the church to us and gave us a full tour. You could tell he was proud of the church and of the area. Zbignew asked him about my family, and while he did not recognize the name from the area, he did know that there were some Glowniaks in Pacanow and Olesnica. We spent almost an hour getting a tour of the church and its surroundings. One thing he pointed out to us as we were standing outside, was a machine gun that had been attached to the church tower during World War II. It was left there as a reminder of what had happened. We thanked the caretaker and I was so touched that what he had done I asked if I could take a picture with him. He was shocked and graciously accepted. We thanked him again and headed out towards Olesnica.

On the morning of August 26, we ate breakfast and packed up and started our long journey to the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. For the most part, this was going to be mostly a travel day to get from point A to point B. Regardless, we got to see a lot of the Polish countryside, which is beautiful in itself.

While we were traveling, I had my phone set up so I could tag the towns and villages that we were going through as we drove through them. Unfortunately, in a few instances, I’d no more than tag the location and 10 seconds later we would drive past the sign showing that we were leaving the area.

The one city that seem to go on forever and ever was Lodz. I remember Zbignew warning us in advance that it was a rather large city. Unfortunately, we hit it at a time during rush hour traffic.

About halfway through our journey we stopped for lunch at PAUSA Bar Restaurant Café. I had my first taste of pork in Poland and it was absolutely amazing.

As we started heading towards our destination, Zbigniew made a side trip to a castle and museum. We took a long hike up and had the opportunity to see Chęciny Castle. (photos)
some may say that I’m obsessed with the medieval time., There’s nothing more beautiful than see some of these old castles and churches that have lasted centuries.

After fueling up and restocking our water supplies, we headed towards our hotel, Cztery Wiatry Spa & Sport Resort which was still another few hours away. This particular hotel was in a very remote location. I don’t think I would’ve found it without Zbigniew. It was deep in the middle of nowhere in the woods.

When we finally arrived at our hote,l we got some last-minute food and drink and headed up to our rooms to prepare for the next day. We were scheduled to head to Olesnica to see if I could finally find my maternal grandfather’s family. As we briefly talked in a room, we said good night and I started to unpack.

It couldn’t have been more than five minutes and I heard a knock at our door. It was our guide Zbigniew. Zbigniew had a smile on his face and said, ”oh by the way, tomorrow we will be visiting your family in Olesnica.” I’m pretty sure the look on my face was priceless. In that little bit of time that he had left, he did a quick search of the phone book and called the first few Glowniaks in the book. On the second try he reached Kazmierz Glowniak, who was the son of my grandfather’s brother! He spoke with Kazmierz and his wife briefly, and asked him if he knew of Stanislaw Glowniak, who went to America. Kazmierz immediately replied, “yes that was my uncle!” He invited us to come see him the following day! Despite being absolutely exhausted from the day I had difficulty sleeping that night due to sheer excitement.

In August 2015, my wife Denise and I took a trip to Poland. Read about our custom guided genealogy tour with PolishOrigins.com.

Welcome PolishOrigins Newsletter Viewers!
Thank you for your interest in my trip. If you need genealogy assistance in the United States or are considering a trip to Poland and need some advice, please contact me. I would be happy to assist you!
For first time travelers, view my page titled “Traveling to Poland”. This was created based on my own travel experiences. It gives you an idea of what to expect and bring for a better overall experience.

As of late my main focus has been getting ready for our trip to Poland. It seems surreal that I’m going back again. Much has changed since my last visit in 2013, when I was single. This time, I won’t be traveling alone as my wife will be traveling with me. She will get to witness firsthand the beauty of the land and people I love dearly.

You can only understand that saying if you have stepped upon the motherland yourself. While there in 2013, I felt like I had been transported back in time, to when I was a child. Customs long forgotten here are still alive in present day Poland. While being there itself is surreal and walking on the very ground my forefathers walked upon can be moving, it’s the people, my family and friends that make the trip so amazing. I can’t wait to see as many of them as I can again. To dine on amazing Polish food, drink vodka, “mineral water” and simply enjoy their company. Nazhtrovia!

Initially things were going well with our trip, we had an itinerary and hired a guiding service called PolishOrigins. I’d done business with them in the past and they have amazing reviews. From having worked with them and knowing how professional they were, I didn’t hesitate when we started our planning months ago to contact them.

Then three days ago we discovered an error with our airline tickets that pushed us into panic mode. The mistake itself would cause us to stay a “little longer” than what we had initially planned. Altering our tickets would cost a small fortune and canceling was not an option. That’s caused me a few sleepless nights (including tonight) while I became an “expert” on where to go and what to do with our “extra” time. The guiding service has been great in trying to help accommodate us with alterations to our itinerary. That speaks volumes to me. And then out of the blue, my family in Pysznica came to our rescue! Thank you, you are truly wonderful! I should have expected it, knowing how people in Poland are. While you’re there, you are treated like they have known you your whole life. They make you feel so welcome and at home, you really don’t want to leave.

We both believe this all happened for a reason, one we don’t fully understand yet. We adjusted our schedules, recreated our itinerary with the help of my cousin Gienek, and the team from PolishOrigins, and plan to enjoy it to the fullest! Take a negative and turn it into a positive!

Right out of the gate, I will be off to Torun to embrace its beauty and history from the 13th with the Teutonic Knights and Torun castle. Its also the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus and home to Pierogi Stary Torun a restaurant I dined in during last trip. I also look forward to seeing some of my cousins and dining with them.

The next portion of the trip will focus on trying to locate records on my maternal grandmother’s family in Skulsk. This also includes hopefully meeting some living relatives. Recently a genealogist/friend in Poland traveled to my maternal grandmother’s village and found a great detail of information on my grandmothers sisters who stayed there. This helped heighten my chances of finding living relatives. While I don’t have a vast amount of time in each location we visit, fate has stepped in once again.

I feel truly blessed as our guide who has been assigned to us for first leg of this amazing journey is also a professional genealogist. That in itself will be great as I can talk shop with someone who knows Polish history, genealogy and culture way better than I ever will. A true learning experience that I totally look forward to! Oh it gets better, he has done genealogy research work for the tv show, Finding Your Roots and ancestry.com’s contest winners. What are the chances of that? What luck to be paired with Zbigniew Stettner of PolishGen.com! I know my chances of finding my family are the best they ever will be.

The second part of our trip we’ll be traveling to the European fairy-tale capital of Pacanow, Poland. A short drive north and I will be visiting Olesnica, Poland once again! Both of these locations are where my maternal grandfather’s family lived since the early 1800s. My grandfather had two brothers and one sister who remained behind in Poland when he left in 1913. Most of them died in the 1980s, but had extensive families. My last trip to Olesnica wasn’t a positive one. I left there very sad that we couldn’t get anyone to help us locate our living relatives. I refuse to let that happen this time around. I recently made contact on facebook with one member of the family over there and hope to finally get to meet him, shake his hand and explain how we are related. Hopefully when he views the photos I have of his late grandfather it will all make sense.

The third part of our trip takes me back to my paternal family hometown of Pysznica, Poland. My own genealogical research done over the last five years has my paternal family traced back to my fourth great grandfather, Sebastian Mierzwa born about 1740.

I cant say enough good things about my family from Pysznica. They have come to our rescue in regards to our flight problem and ill be spending a “few” extra days with them. I’m so looking forward to spending time with them and visiting cousins I’d met last time I was there.

I also plan to so some genealogy work while im there. Recently I made contact with a large number of DNA matches that have Mierzwa ancestors that came from south of my paternal hometown of Pysznica. I hope to visit these towns and villages and see if I can find living relatives for them. Remember, you get back what you give out. And I thoroughly enjoy helping people connect with their past!

The fourth and last part of our tour will take us deep into the southern part of Poland, visiting a few cities before spending a well-deserved “break” in Krakow. I fell in love Krakow in 2013 and plan to see everything there is this time around. I won’t go into detail as you’ll have to watch my daily posts from Poland as we travel and post pictures.

Finally, before leaving Poland I’ll be spending a few days in Warsaw, touring the city and hopefully meeting up with friends and family that reside there before coming back home.

This is going to be a trip of a lifetime and I’m excited to share it with all of you.

It is my understanding that this photo is of part of my maternal grandfathers family that resided in Olesnica, Poland.
If you recognize someone in this photo as part of your family, please let me know.